Future Fit: Call to prepare for legal action

Legal action from Telford & Wrekin Council against the way decisions are being made over the future of hospital services is to become a step closer.

The
Council’s Leader Shaun Davies has called an Extraordinary General Meeting
following yesterday’s recommendation by the board of ‘Future Fit’ to close the
Princess Royal Hospital’s A&E department and Women & Children’s Centre
and move them to Shrewsbury.

The
meeting, to be held on Wednesday 7 December at 6pm at Telford College of Arts
& Technology will call on Council members to endorse the launch of a
judicial review, if necessary.

Cllr
Davies said: “I know people say we are only complaining because we don’t like
the outcome, however I want to make it absolutely clear that we believe there
are fundamental flaws and mistakes in the way this process has been managed. We
seriously question and continue to question the manner in which the Board of
‘Future Fit’ has come to this recommendation.

“Their proposal will go before the county’s two clinical commissioning groups
who pay for the health and hospital services we get and who we expect to
jointly meet next week.

“But
our preferred option is for two fully-funded and fully-equipped accident and
emergency departments for the good of the whole of Shropshire and mid Wales.

“I am
bitterly disappointed that, despite writing to him several times, the Secretary
of State for Health has not responded to our requests for him to intervene. I
urge our two MPs to seek an urgent meeting with him and demand that he does
step in and stop this fiasco.”